


Survival

by live_laugh_read



Category: Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-17
Updated: 2015-09-17
Packaged: 2018-04-21 05:08:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4816178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/live_laugh_read/pseuds/live_laugh_read
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anakin Solo thinks he will die in 27 ABY, aged seventeen years old, when he travels to Myrkr on a mission with his friends and siblings. This fear is almost made a reality when he is struck by a bomb used to kill Executor Nom Anor. Anakin would have died, if not for some mysterious travellers returning to the galaxy ...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Survival

As he hit the floor of the grashal, Anakin Solo knew without a doubt that he was going to die today. It was time for him to leave behind the galaxy he had been born in, the friends he had loved and the family that had nurtured him, and take a step forward into an unknown place.

All of a sudden, a blinding flash lit up his world and a voice told him, “It’s not time for you to die yet. You must go back to your world and help your friends overcome their enemy and achieve their goal.” This confused him: how was he to do this when he had been wounded as badly as he felt? With difficulty, he managed to stand and look around. 

Walking out of the mist were several figures that he thought he recognised – he knew them from somewhere, but his mind couldn’t place them. They were all dressed in Jedi robes, and had lightsabers hanging at their belts. A distinctively Old Republic feeling … “You’re the Knights and Masters of the old Order!” Anakin exclaimed, and was rewarded by a nod from the old man with white hair and beard. 

“We have been sent by the Force to ally with your Order in preparation for the biggest onslaught by the Yuuzhan Vong yet. If we succeed in defending against it, we will be allowed to stay indefinitely,” the old man explained. “My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi, and this is someone you may relate to – my former Padawan, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.” 

Skywalker stepped forward, smiling, as his black robes swirled about him. “How about I be called Ani, and you will be Anakin, for form’s sake?” he asked. “It would be rather confusing calling us both Anakin … we could always go by the formal titles of Jedi Skywalker and Jedi Solo.” His grandson was stunned, and Obi-Wan chuckled. 

“I fear we have heaped too much on him at once,” he said. “This will be a lot for him to take in, seventeen years old or not. We must tread carefully, lest we move too fast for young Solo to keep up with us.” He, too, stepped forward and put a hand on Skywalker’s shoulder. “Jedi Skywalker, you must return to the Mission and inform the others their strike leader will follow soon. Your mission is to kill the voxyn queen and take the Knights out safely. We will meet you at Coruscant.”

Skywalker nodded. “Yes, Master,” he said. “I am proud to represent the Old Jedi Order once again.” He drew his bright blue lightsaber, saluted his grandson and the other Jedi with it, and vanished. Obi-Wan turned to the young Jedi and spoke gently.

“Jedi Solo, we are aware you have a mission to complete, but never fear. Jedi Skywalker is reliable, and has completed many for the Old Republic. It will not be a problem for him integrating himself with the New Republic.” The old Master gestured to a yellow brick road that had faded in before them. “Shall we walk? I have much to tell you.” The two started to walk at a brisk pace down the road, and the other Masters ranged around them, ready to answer Anakin’s questions. 

“First,” the boy said, “where are we?”

A chocolate-skinned man smiled. “An extremely good question, Jedi Solo. We are in Limbo. That is to say, we are hanging in the balance between Life and Death. On one side is the Myrkr installation, where your friends are even now fighting to the death. That which lies on the opposite side is the netherworld of the Force, from whence we came upon birth, and will go when death overtakes us.” His lightsaber, Anakin noticed, was of a similar design to the one his uncle Luke had carried before presenting it to his wife, Mara. 

“That makes sense,” he said. “If we are between Life and Death, then surely I have a choice? I am allowed to go on or step back?”

“You are correct,” the same man answered. “But either way, the decision is irreversible. Once you have made your decision and are firm upon it, it cannot be changed. Think carefully, young Jedi. Whether you go on or choose to return will impact the Jedi Order greatly. If you go on, it will either be their fall, or they will rise due to your sacrifice. That is the same for if you decide to step back into your life and re-assume your burdens.”

Anakin’s chin dropped. “My fellow strike members will think I am dead by this point,” he said. “I don’t know whether I should return or not.” He looked up at the Jedi Master who had spoken. “Who are you?” he asked suddenly. “I don’t recognise you from the old holos I’ve seen.”

“I fell to Vader’s saber, Jedi Solo. My name is Mace Windu, and I was to be the Jedi Grand Master after Yoda passed on. I was able to find Palpatine, just before Order 66 was executed, and was about to kill him when Darth Vader stepped in and saved his life. At that moment, he was not worthy of the blue lightsaber he carried.”

Anakin felt slightly ashamed, but Obi-Wan reassured him, saying, “Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were, in my view, two completely different characters. What Vader did was unforgivable, but Skywalker saved the Jedi Order at Endor. He is one with the Force now, or won’t be when we succeed in defeating the Yuuzhan Vong.

“Now, Anakin, it is time to make your choice. Will you return, or will you proceed?

Anakin was silent for several moments, weighing his options. Finally, he said, “I choose to return and help my friends destroy a threat to the New Republic.” 

The relief from the other Jedi was tangible. Obviously they had all been waiting for Anakin to make that decision. It must be the right one, he thought.

Obi-Wan turned, sweeping the young man up in his wake. “Then we will return,” he said. “However, it is likely that the strike team has already destroyed the voxyn queen, under the leadership of Jedi Skywalker. They may even now be returning to Coruscant. If that is so, then we will travel there. If they are still fighting, we will assist them.” The old Master looked at his colleagues with a twinkle in his eye. “It has been a long time since we raised a lightsaber to save a Republic. I look forward to it again.”

The other Masters nodded, and as one their hands dropped to their lightsaber hilts at their belts. Anakin drew his and turned on the glowing violet blade. Mace Windu spoke, upon seeing the blade, “Anakin, that is the first purple saber I have seen since my own. Many Jedi choose to wield either a green or a blue lightsaber. Purple is not a common choice.”

“What about other colours?” Anakin asked. “I know Corran Horn has a silver one.”

“Silver lightsabers have been recorded as owned by Jedi, as have orange ones,” Mace replied. “Other colours include yellow, which I have heard your mother wielded once, as well as cyan, viridian and orange. And, of course, Corran’s silver one that you just mentioned.”

The younger Jedi had opened his mouth to respond when Obi-Wan cut in, “Let’s cut the chatter, Jedi. We are walking on the border between Life and Death, and will soon return to the grashal from which we saved Jedi Solo. Sabers out and lit, and formal titles from here on in. May the Force be with you all.”

The phrase was repeated quietly around the circle of Jedi, with Mace Windu repeating it on a variant, “May the Force be with us all.”

Another light, similar to that Anakin had seen when he was taken to Limbo, began to increase in size and glow until he had to cover his eyes. His ears and eyes were momentarily cut out and he was deaf and blind, then the ground shook and he regained the use of those senses. Looking around, Anakin saw that the ground had shaken due to the explosion of a detonator bomb. On the path forward, he saw the outline of several Jedi Knights fighting an unknown foe – was it voxyn or Yuuzhan Vong?

The seventeen-year-old Jedi picked out the outlines of his brother Jacen, and his sister Jaina, as they assisted one another against an enemy. Their grandfather, Anakin Skywalker, was battling yet another adversary. Anakin Solo set off at a stumbling run towards the battle, lightsaber lit and at the ready. Leaping over fallen Yuuzhan Vong – now he knew who they were fighting – he swung his lightsaber and brought down one who had been converging on Jacen from behind. Almost instantly, he spun back and felled two more warriors.

After the Yuuzhan Vong had all been killed, the strike team and its added Jedi Masters advanced further towards the cave where the voxyn queen lay. This would be their biggest test; if they killed the queen, all the other voxyn in the galaxy would be incapacitated. The New Republic depended on them to complete their mission. If any were to die, they would die fighting.

It was agreed amongst the strike team that Jaina and Anakin Skywalker, being the strongest Jedi in the group, should engage the voxyn in combat. Their fellows would stand back and have their weapons at the ready, should Anakin and his granddaughter need assistance. The benediction “May the Force be with you” was repeated several times, and then the two Knights stepped forward to challenge the Yuuzhan Vong’s greatest asset. 

The remaining Jedi thought several times that Anakin and Jaina were in trouble, but in the end they came out of the cavern battle-worn, with dust all over their battle clothes. Jaina was almost stumbling, and Jacen sprinted forward to catch her before she fell. Anakin, for his part, was not much better, having to lean on Obi-Wan and Zekk for support. The news that they brought, however, was uplifting:

“The voxyn queen is dead.”

A small cheer went up from the strike team members and Jedi, and Tahiri said confidently, “Now we can turn for home.”

Jaina looked up at her. “We can’t, actually. Not yet, anyway. Lomi and Welk, the Dark Jedi, sabotaged the _Tachyon Flier_. I need to steal a Yuuzhan Vong freighter.” Collective groans went up from her colleagues, but Jaina held up a finger. “Hang on. I haven’t finished. It’s going to be pretty easy for me to grab a freighter, _if_ you lot keep watch for the Dark Jedi and the Yuuzhan Vong. Deal?”

“I’ll help,” her grandfather offered. “I’m pretty good with ships.”

“He’s not kidding,” Obi-Wan added. “He first flew an X-Wing and destroyed a battlemoon at age nine. I don’t think you should turn this one down, Jaina.” 

Her eyes skipped between the two older Jedi, and then she nodded. “I saw a freighter not far from here,” she informed them as they started plowing through the mess. “It should be relatively easy to board it and hijack its controls. If all goes well, we’ll be home by this time tomorrow.”

The strike team set to with this comforting news that brought them hope, and thought of their loved ones. As they worked, the deceased of Myrkr came to mind countless times: Ulaha Kore, Eryl Besa, Krasov and Bela Hara had all given their lives for the Mission.

Finally, an hour later, Jaina called them in and declared that the freighter was ready to become airborne. The strike team and Old Order Jedi boarded, and Jaina headed immediately for the pilot’s station in the cockpit. Anakin Skywalker sat in the co-pilot’s seat, and after a little jiggling and poking, the sabotaged Yuuzhan Vong freighter rose swiftly into the sky, did a 180 degree turn, and soared through the hole in the cave to freedom.

They were going home.


End file.
